ABSTRACT
The indebtedness of municipal, regional and national finances was a common feature among European kingdoms dating back to the dawn of the Modern Age. The idea of universitas on fiscal issues – and, consequently, of responsibilities’ division in governance, that is, in the city’s headings, such as its defense, conflict management, and the supervision of fees collected for buildings and services’ maintenance that benefited the community. The increase in fiscal pressure was felt by the military campaigns maintained between the 1370s and 1420s, and these developments would eventually lead the system to a condition of weakness, only contained by the rise of the Catholic kings during the 1470s. As for the form of taxation, two systems coexisted during the later Middle Ages and early modern period: a system of local taxation, for military and related purposes, and another of general taxes, which were subdivided into fixed amounts to be paid by the various regions.
